Wherever You Will Go
by Draco Dormiens
Summary: Ron disappears during a fight against the Death Eaters. Voldemort is later defeated, but Harry doesn't care, now that Ron's gone. Eventual H/R slash.
1. Chapter One

Wherever You Will Go

I wrote this for a friend, Morgan, since she's a fan of Harry/Ron. I'm not particularly fond of them but I like the way this story turned out, anyway.

Disclaimers: I don't own anything that has to do with Harry Potter, except for some copies of the book, but those don't really count. I also don't own the song "Wherever You Will Go". None of this is mine. Comprenez-vous? So don't sue me.

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The sun shone through the curtains in Harry Potter's bedroom. It was almost noon, and he was still asleep. Hermione sighed and closed the door, heading for the kitchen of the apartment they shared. More and more often, Harry had been sleeping until the early afternoon, and touring the bars once it got dark.

They were both twenty-one years old. Voldemort had been defeated a half-year earlier. Once Harry, Ron and Hermione had graduated from Hogwarts, they had all pitched in against You-Know-Who, and training to be Aurors. They had been restless all throughout the two months of training, anxious to actually do something.

After 'graduating', the trio had been sent off on various physically and emotionally gruelling assignments. Ron often returned with a blank look in his eyes after the particularly gruesome scenes. More than ever, the trio needed the support of one another, and had moved into a middle-sized flat in the heart of wizarding London when they were nineteen years old.

They made a good team. Hermione was the brains, Harry was the bravery, and Ron was the blind luck that often got them out of sticky situations. Although it was draining for all of them, frequent visits from Fred and George kept their spirits up, and Ron always had a joke to crack. They stuck together until one assignment.

Harry and Ron had been sitting in their living room, playing Exploding Snap and joking with each other, when Hermione had rushed in with an urgent owl from the Ministry of Magic. They were all needed at a small confrontation that had rapidly gone very wrong. The ten Aurors that the Ministry had sent were vastly outnumbered in the ambush that Voldemort had set, and all available Aurors were desperately needed. The trio Apparated to the scene, and their jaws had dropped.

The Aurors were in a circle, back to back, surrounded by at least fifty Death Eaters, who were treating it as a chance to practice their Unforgivable Curses. Hermione stopped Harry and Ron from rushing out and confronting them, instead deciding that a sudden surprise would be best. So, with a sick feeling in his stomach, Harry had jumped out from behind a bush and used Avada Kedavra on as many Death Eaters as he could, all the while ducking their retaliations.

For the rest of the fight, Harry was an automaton. Duck, cast spell, repeat. Ten metres away, Hermione was doing the same. Ron was in the middle of the fray, and all Harry could see of him was his bright red hair.

Harry threw himself to one side, successfully avoiding the bright green streak of light that would have meant his death if it had hit him. He scrambled to his feet and raised his wand, prepared to obliterate the Death Eater who had thrown the spell at him. But as he looked around the clearing, he saw that there were no Death Eaters left. The ground was littered with bodies, and here and there an Auror stood, panting with exhaustion. Harry counted. There were five Aurors left, including himself. His brow furrowed as he realized something..

"Hermione, where's Ron?" he yelled, searching for Ron's hair among the bodies and hoping against hope that he didn't find that particular body. Hermione looked around the clearing, and when Ron wasn't there, began to scan the bodies as well. When neither of them could find their friend, they began to comb through the bushes, becoming more worried with every second that passed.

They gave up two hours later. All the other Aurors had Disapparated, and Harry and Hermione were faced with the awful realization that Ron was missing.

Hermione bit her lip. "Harry, do you suppose that the Death Eaters have him? Maybe we should contact You-Know-Who and ask him if they've got Ron.."

Harry leaned against a tree, bitter and shaking with fatigue. "Yes, I suppose we'll just walk up to Voldemort and ask him if he has time for a cup of tea and by the way do they have Ron?"

Hermione regarded Harry silently. She remembered the Triwizard Cup, and how Ron was the thing Harry would miss most. She didn't know how he would handle it now that Ron was truly gone. She walked over and took Harry's hand, using her remaining energy to Apparate back to their flat. Harry hugged Hermione lightly, and stumbled back to his room, still in shock. Hermione watched him go, sighed, and turned towards her own bedroom.

The moment Harry lay down, he fell into a deep, dreamless sleep. Hermione stayed awake until the wee hours of the morning, trying to think of a way to tell Ron's mother. She had already lost a son, Percy, to Voldemort's minions. Hermione didn't want to make her pain worse by telling her that Ron might be dead, as well.

Harry woke up the next afternoon, his head pounding. For a moment, he thought that the day before had been a nightmare, but when he stumbled into Ron's room and found it empty, his hopes fell sharply. He closed his eyes, trying to will the tears not to fall. 


	2. Chapter Two

Wherever You Will Go (Chapter Two)

Disclaimers: I don't own anything that has to do with Harry Potter, except for some copies of the book, but those don't really count. I also don't own the song "Wherever You Will Go". None of this is mine. Comprenez-vous? So don't sue me.

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Harry wandered into the kitchen at three o'clock, bleary-eyed, and with dark circles under his eyes. The circles were permanent these days, silent testament to the deterioration of the Boy Who Lived. Hermione watched him for a few minutes, before offering him some of the scrambled eggs that she had had for breakfast. Harry shook his head and mumbled "No thanks." Hermione bit her bottom lip, and got a glass of water for her friend.

Harry had almost completely stopped eating over the past six months, and the result was that his weight had dropped drastically. He was nearly a skeleton now, and his old Auror robes hung off him. Hermione had tried time and time again to get him to eat a full meal, but he always told her that he wasn't hungry. Even Mrs. Weasley, who had been like a substitute mother to Harry since very early in his wizarding life, had been unable to get him to eat more than an apple.

Harry sat at the table, staring at his glass of water, for a long time. Eventually, Hermione had had enough. "Look, Harry, he was our best friend.. but please, he wouldn't want you to do this to yourself! You're dying!"

Harry looked up. Hermione looked more worried than he had ever seen her look before. He shrugged his shoulders listlessly. "I'm really not hungry, Herm."

Tears brimmed in Hermione's eyes. "I've already lost one of my best friends, and I don't want to lose you, too." She sat down beside Harry.

Harry kept his eyes firmly fixed to his glass of water. "I'm fine. Really, I am."

Hermione watched him for a few more minutes, before getting up and heading to her room. She pulled out a piece of paper, wrote a quick letter, and tied it to her owl's leg. Sending him off with a murmur in his ear, she turned back toward the kitchen. Harry was still sitting at the table, sipping his water, and staring out the window. Idly, he picked up an orange from the bowl on the table, tossing it up and down a few times before peeling it.

It was the first thing he had eaten in a week, other than a glass of water, or if he was in an especially good mood, milk. Hermione watched him quietly from the doorway, hoping that she would get a prompt reply to her owl.

Lady Luck was smiling on her that day, for within an hour of sending the owl, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin Apparated into the living room. Hermione talked with them quietly, explaining the situation, while Black nodded and Lupin looked progressively more worried. Sirius was the first one to march out and confront Harry about his habits, while Lupin followed, sighing softly about "that horrible temper Sirius has".

Hermione twisted her hands together, listening to the shouting that was going on in the kitchen. Most of it was Sirius, but occasionally Harry's temper got the better of him. Eventually, Harry stormed out of the kitchen, a hard look in his normally empty green eyes. He looked at Hermione, who gulped; she never liked being on the receiving end of Harry's temper.

"Macaroni and cheese."

"What?" Hermione asked, quite confused.

"You were right. I shouldn't be killing myself like this. Do you know how to make macaroni and cheese?"

Hermione vaguely recalled something about it, so she nodded.

"It was my favorite food when I was a kid. Can you make some?"

Hermione's face broke into a big smile. She nodded vigorously, and pulled Harry into a tight hug. Although he seemed to be on the way to recovering, he was still frighteningly thin, and that worried her. Letting go, she walked into the kitchen, and looked at Sirius. "Do you know how to make macaroni and cheese?"

Sirius looked bewildered, but Lupin nodded. Hermione smiled. "Harry wants some. Can you show me how?"

Harry spent the next few weeks regaining his former strength, both physical and emotional. He filled out and began to fit his clothes again. The Ministry was glad to have him back, as there were still a few stray Death Eaters, and Harry had always been one of their best Aurors. He faced each new task methodically, with a concentration that was rare for him to display. Quite quickly, he rose through the ranks, finally becoming the next contender for the position of Minister of Magic.

Nearly ten months after Ron had disappeared, Harry was informed that Cornelius Fudge had decided to retire. He was offered the position, but declined, instead pointing out a candidate that he felt would be far more worthy than him.

Only a month later, Hermione became the new Minister of Magic, which came as a surprise to the entire magical community. It surprised her, as well, but she adjusted quickly and began to organize the Ministry into a more efficient form. She was in her element, and soon the Ministry became a much more well-respected institution.

And Harry continued to work, nearly oblivious to his surroundings. 


	3. Chapter Three

Wherever You Will Go (Chapter Three)

Disclaimers: I don't own anything that has to do with Harry Potter, except for some copies of the book, but those don't really count. I also don't own the song "Wherever You Will Go". None of this is mine. Comprenez-vous? So don't sue me.

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_One year after Ron's disappearance_

Harry put down his toothbrush and walked down the hall to his room. He pulled the covers back and got into bed – he was bone-tired. He rolled over to flip the bedside lamp off, but paused as he saw the picture that sat beside it.

'It's been a full year already..' he realized, lying back and watching the picture. It was of him, Hermione and Ron, right after they had gotten the apartment. They were all sporting huge smiles, and as he watched, the Harry in the photo leaned down and picked up a shrieking photo-Hermione. Photo- Harry and Ron held her on their shoulders, grinning, as she admonished them to let her down at once. Harry smiled wistfully. He traced the outline of Ron, who grinned at the camera, waving as he held Hermione up.

Ron had been the first one to reach out to Harry; his first real friend. He had meant everything to the Boy Who Lived, But Didn't Know A Thing About The Wizarding World. Harry watched the happy trio in the picture, watching as Hermione chased Harry and Ron around for lifting her up. He closed his eyes, trying to keep the tears from coming. It didn't work, and he sobbed himself to sleep.

In the next room, Hermione bit her lip, knowing that her best friend was in incredible pain, and felt helpless.

She was in her office by eight o'clock the following morning, checking her mail for new reports and any urgent letters. She sorted the surveillance reports out of the pile, and set them aside to look through when she had finished with the urgent business. There was none, so she turned to the reports.

One of the first things she had done after becoming the Minister of Magic was to institute a surveillance system that searched England for any Death Eaters that might have escaped. Many Aurors felt that the Death Eaters would run and hide as they had done so many years before. However, most of the prominent, inner-circle Death Eaters had been captured, with the help of Draco Malfoy, who had acted as a double agent. Teams of two witches or wizards were constantly making their way through Great Britain, investigating anything that seemed to be slightly abnormal.

Most of the reports were the usual, with no new discoveries made. Death Eaters were very rarely found, as most of them had been caught, so Hermione wasn't expecting any major findings. However, she did read with more interest a report from two wizards in a town in northern England. They had gone up there after reading a story in a Muggle newspaper about a dozen bodies, found over the past four months or so, who had exhibited no symptoms of anything that could have killed them. Suspecting Death Eaters, the wizards had done a second search of the town, and had isolated three men that, they reported, had exhibited suspicious and Death Eater-like behaviour. Hermione suppressed a giggle at the phrase "suspicious and Death Eater-like behaviour". Putting on a straight face again, she continued reading, and by the time she was done, she had decided to send a team of Aurors to investigate further.

Turning in her chair, she pulled some paper and a quill out from a drawer behind her. Hastily scribbling three notes, she hurried to owl them to three of the best Aurors in the Ministry. After sending them off, she sat back in her chair, waiting.

Harry arrived five minutes later, and knocked on her office door. Poking his head around it, he gave Hermione a slight smile, and walked in. "Hey, Herm. What's so urgent?"

Hermione indicated that he should sit in the chair in front of her desk, and handed him the report. He sat, and began reading. Hermione explained the case in a nutshell, and expressed suspicions that there may be more than three Death Eaters up there, and that they should proceed with caution.

Harry finished reading and looked up. "We'll be careful. Capture or kill?"

Hermione thought that over quickly. "Capture if you can, kill if you have to."

Harry nodded grimly, and put the report on Hermione's desk. At that moment, a soft knock came on the door.

"Come in," Hermione said, with a good idea of who it was. Neville Longbottom slipped in, closing the door behind him. He looked at Harry, and mumbled a hello. Harry nodded to him in acknowledgment. Neville had worked hard during his last years at Hogwarts, and was one of the best Aurors the Ministry had, partly because of his parents. Hermione smiled at him, and explained the situation as she had with Harry. Neville nodded and sat down to wait for the third Auror.

After ten minutes, a short black-haired man walked into the office. Hermione didn't need to introduce Edward MacRae to Harry, since they had already worked together, but Neville had never met him. She performed an introduction and explained, for the third time, the report. They conferred briefly, and Disapparated. Harry waved to Hermione before vanishing with the other two.

They reappeared in a thick forest, and Neville very nearly Apparated on top of a tree. Muttering a brief spell to point him in the direction of the town, Harry watched as his wand spun around on his fingertip and pointed north-west. MacRae watched as it slowed and stopped, and began to walk in the direction that the wand pointed. Harry pocketed his wand and followed, with Neville close behind.

Before they exited the forest, they changed their clothes to blend in with the Muggles. Harry cast an illusion on his scar to make it appear as smooth skin, and stepped out of the forest, looking around. MacRae and Neville followed immediately, walking across a field toward a town that they could see not far off.

When they reached it, it was nearly deserted. A lone police officer patrolled the streets, and a young girl hurried by with a bag of vegetables. Harry glanced around, puzzled, and finally asked the policeman where the town was.

"Inside. Scared of bein' murdered," came the answer.

Harry nodded mutely. He exchanged a glance with his fellow Aurors, and they split up to search for any evidence. Neville headed south, Harry headed north, and MacRae headed into a nearby tavern, supposedly to "get information from the drunks there".

The town was pretty, but without any sign of human life apart from the occasional child's eyes that could be seen peering through curtains, it was fairly boring. Harry strode down the street, using the spotting skills that it had taken to be a Seeker to look for evidence. His gaze flicked over houses, and for a moment, he slipped into an alleyway to study the file photographs of the suspected Death Eaters. He memorized their features, put away the photo, and cast an invisibility spell on himself. Stepping out of the alley, he continued down the street. 


	4. Chapter Four

Wherever You Will Go (Chapter Four)

Disclaimers: I don't own anything that has to do with Harry Potter, except for some copies of the book, but those don't really count. I also don't own the song "Wherever You Will Go". None of this is mine. Comprenez-vous? So don't sue me.

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As per Ministry procedures, the three Aurors opened a quick speech spell connection after an hour. MacRae's low voice came through first. "Nothing here. I'm moving east." Harry nodded and said that he hadn't found anything, and was still moving north. Neville echoed them, except that he was continuing south. They broke the connection and kept walking.

They repeated the procedure twice over the next two hours, and finally decided to call it a day when the sun began to set. Apparating together, they decided to stay at a small hotel in the center of the town. Harry fished a few worn bills out of his pockets, and counted the Muggle money. He had it as leftovers from an earlier raid. There was enough to cover a night in the hotel, and one of them would Apparate back to the Ministry to get some more money the next day.

They checked in, and all three fell asleep almost immediately.

The next day, they rose with the sun. Harry was quite used to doing this by now, since Ministry work often required him to be up early. Neville had a bit more of a problem waking up properly. They had breakfast in the hotel restaurant, charging it to their room, and Harry Apparated back to the Ministry. Hermione provided him with a wad of bills, enough to pay for the room for a few days.

They split up at 8, and continued searching. Harry headed west, and bought a newspaper, bottle of water, and chocolate bar at a nearby convenience store. He found a bench, and sat down to read. While eating the Muggle chocolate (not as good as wizarding chocolate, in his opinion), he read through an article profiling the recent deaths.

The most recent one had occurred only a week before they had arrived, and the victim, a young woman, was found on the sidewalk in the morning. She was staring blankly at the sky, splayed out on the sidewalk as though something large and heavy had hit her in the chest and thrown her backward. Autopsies revealed nothing, except some slight bruising on her back where she had fallen. The author of the article blathered on about the mystery of it all, and Harry folded it up. He mused over the information. It did, indeed, sound an awful lot like the killing curse, and there was no doubt in his mind now that the deaths were the work of a former follower of Voldemort.

He left the newspaper on the bench for someone else to pick up, and threw out his candy wrapper. By now, a few people were already hurrying to work. Harry eyed all of them, trying to pick out which might be Death Eaters. Quite suddenly, he noticed a head of bright red hair. His heart leapt – until the man turned into a building nearby. It wasn't Ron. He sighed. 'I know, it was stupid to think Ron might be here..' he thought morosely to himself. He continued walking along the street, depressed.

They checked in with each other every hour, as usual, and when Harry heard Neville's stomach growling through the connection, he suggested that they take a break for lunch and discuss anything that might be remotely suspicious. The three Aurors Apparated to an alley near a cafe, and sat down at a table.

"I thought I saw Ron, once," Harry confessed. "Wasn't him though." He sighed. Neville took another bite of his chicken. "Too bad. He was a good Auror," the short man said. Harry sighed. 'He might not be dead,' his mind reasoned. 'After all, they never found his body..'

The reasonable side of his mind scowled at him. 'Come on, Harry, what are the chances that he's alive? He's been missing for over a year, and went missing in the middle of a fight. He's probably dead.' Harry hated these thoughts. He stared at his plate for a few minutes, until pushing his food away. "Not hungry anymore," he muttered.

Nothing was revealed in an afternoon of searching, but that came as no surprise to any of the three. They holed up inside their hotel room for the evening. Harry pulled out a book, so did Neville, and MacRae turned on the television. They went to sleep at ten, give or take an hour for each Auror's personal preferences.

However, their sleep was disturbed at about 3 AM, when a scuffle broke out outside the hotel. Harry was up in a flash, wand ready, when he heard a low voice hiss "Avada Kedavra." A whooshing noise, and a thud. Harry immediately shook Neville and MacRae out of their slumber, and they all dressed.

Making themselves invisible, they rushed downstairs, and skidded outside to find two men dressed in dark robes, standing over the body of the policeman Harry had talked to earlier. Harry heard Neville give a sharp gasp behind him, and immediately whirled around. "Should we get them now, or let them lead us to any others?" he asked, barely audible even to the other Aurors. MacRae considered this for a moment. "Let them lead us. If it doesn't work, we can get them then."

As soon as the Death Eaters glided off, grinning and talking quietly to each other, the three Aurors followed silently. Harry strode behind them close enough to hear them speak of 'him'. Who 'he' was, Harry had no clue, but he intended to find out. They walked for a few minutes before the Death Eaters turned sharply into an alley. Harry cursed softly as he looked in, and the men were gone. He felt MacRae and Neville come up behind him. "They must have Disapparated," Harry said in an undertone, disappointment evident in his voice.

Neville brushed past Harry and peered closely at something on the wall. "I don't think they Disapparated. I think there's a door here. How did they get in, though?" He traced the faint outline of a door, which was rapidly disappearing. MacRae knelt down and studied the wall. "Password, maybe?" Neville rubbed his chin, trying to think of a possible password. Harry pondered this. "If we can set a watch on the door, we might be able to hear the password."

MacRae grunted, and nodded. "The killings happen at night, but they're probably around during the day. I don't think they'll be around again until the morning."

Harry agreed. "If it's okay with you, I'll take the first watch. How long?"

Neville thought. "I think two hour shifts ought to be enough time during the day, but what about at night?"

Harry nodded absently, trying to calculate how much sleep they needed. "Maybe five hour shifts during the night. That's enough time for each of us to regain our energy."

They all agreed, and headed back to the hotel to get more sleep. Harry fell into his bed, completely exhausted. 


	5. Chapter Five

Wherever You Will Go (Chapter Five)

Disclaimers: I don't own anything that has to do with Harry Potter, except for some copies of the book, but those don't really count. I also don't own the song "Wherever You Will Go". None of this is mine. Comprenez-vous? So don't sue me.

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Harry roused himself at seven, and ate a quick breakfast. His watch began at 8 AM, and Neville would take over at ten unless something went wrong. When he walked outside the hotel, he found the back of the hotel surrounded by police, and a number of townspeople had gathered. Harry's heart went out to an older woman, who bore an unmistakable resemblance to the policeman that had been killed. She was with a younger woman, and they were both crying while talking to the police.

Harry watched the scene for a few more minutes, and then left. He strode down the street, counting alleys so that he would find the right one, and whispered his invisibility spell. A large box nearby was put into use as a seat, and Harry stayed there, watching, for almost an hour. Right before Harry was about to step out and contact the other Aurors, the door portion of the wall dissolved into thin air. Harry gaped as two men stepped out, dressed smartly in business suits, and the wall firmed behind them. When the men walked out of the alley, Harry kept an eye on them, but conjured up the speech spell.

"Neville, Edward, two men just came out of the wall. They're heading east on Main.. no, wait, they split up, I'll need someone to track the other one," he urgently whispered.

MacRae's grating voice came through. "I'll be there in a second."

And he was, for Harry turned around a split second before the Auror appeared. He turned visible and quickly explained the physical features of the man they were looking for. When MacRae had memorized them, Harry sprinted off after the other.

He rounded the corner and saw his quarry in the middle of a crowd. The plain brown hair didn't stand out, and Harry irritably wished that more Death Eaters would have distinctive hair coloring. Earlier that year he had caught one who magicked his hair blue..

The man turned another corner, and Harry had to walk quickly to keep up with him. Eventually, the man turned into a modern-looking building. Harry cursed under his breath and made himself invisible again, which was taking a fair risk when one was surrounded by Muggles. He slipped in the door before it closed, and walked quietly behind the man, who was heading for the elevators. While waiting beside him, Harry took the opportunity to closely study the man, in an attempt to discover his identity.

The target stood at about five feet, five inches, which was quite a bit shorter than Harry's 6'2". His eyes were a dull brown. He blended in perfectly, which was important, as Harry knew. His piercing green eyes, dark hair, and scar tended to get quite a few looks. That was why he usually remembered to place an illusion on the scar, which rendered him a lot more inconspicuous. On occasion, Aurors altered their hair and eye colors to make them less recognizable to Death Eaters.

The elevators opened while Harry was studying the man. 'Target', as Harry began to call him in his mind, stepped on and pressed the button for the fourth floor. Harry slipped into a corner, trying to stay away from people who might bump into him. He was invisible, but he wasn't intangible, which was a downside to the spell.

Target stepped out at the fourth floor and turned left. Harry followed. They walked silently, until Harry hit a squeaky board. He stepped back, horrified that Target might catch on. Luckily, Target only glanced at the floor and continued walking. Harry would have breathed a sigh of relief, but that would have made too much noise.

Target turned the knob on a door with the title "Alexander Rosque" emblazoned on it in gold lettering, and Harry barely had time to squeeze through before the door was closed.

He was in a neatly kept waiting room, with a couch and a receptionist behind a desk. Target, or Alexander, smiled at the receptionist before walking into a room at the back. Harry took a look around the waiting room, discovering from the pamphlets that Alexander was a lawyer. 'Or so he says,' thought Harry darkly. He slipped over to the desk, and swiped a pen when the woman's head was turned. With that, he quickly scribbled the address and office number on a pamphlet, and stuffed it into his pocket.

Harry Apparated back to the alley where the Death Eaters originally came out of. MacRae waited there, a grim look on his face. Harry turned visible. "Goes by Alexander Rosque, and is posing as a lawyer. Yours?"

MacRae glanced at a sheet of paper. "Michael Hughes, family doctor." His face contorted into a look of disgust. "I don't want to know what he's doing to his Muggle patients. We need to get this guy quickly. His office closes at 6."

Harry nodded. "We'll bring him back to the hotel room and use Veritaserum on him. That'll get us quick access to their headquarters, and all the information we need. What about Rosque?"

"Get him too. If they come back together every day, we don't want one coming back and the other not." MacRae glanced at his watch.

Harry sat down on a box. "I'll keep watch until ten, then. See you in an hour – no, nevermind, Neville's relieving me, isn't he?"

MacRae nodded. "See you at lunch." He disappeared.

The rest of Harry's shift went by without incident, and he met the others for lunch at noon. They went over what would happen right after 6 that night, and it was decided that Harry and MacRae would incapacitate and transport Hughes, and deliver him to Neville, who would watch Hughes while the other two got Rosque. They each had a vial of Veritaserum with them, so there was much, much more than enough to get everything they needed out of the two Death Eaters.

The afternoon passed quickly, and Harry and MacRae Apparated to the hall outside Hughes' office at five minutes to six. They waited, both invisible, wands ready. Their target exited at precisely six o'clock, pulling on his jacket. He closed the door, and before he could take another step, Harry had caught him from behind. "Stupefy."

Hughes stopped in his tracks, and was immediately Apparated back to the hotel room by MacRae. Neville kept his wand pointed at Hughes, who lay on the floor, and the other two Aurors Apparated to the office of Alexander Rosque. As luck would have it, he was just finishing up, allowing the Aurors to wait for him in the hall. Everything went by the book, and soon Rosque was lying beside Hughes, and MacRae was unscrewing his vial of Veritaserum.

"Which one first?" Harry asked, his wand trained on the lawyer. MacRae's eyes flicked from one to the other. "Doctor," he said. Harry nodded and pointed his wand at Hughes. "Enervate," he said quietly. The man's eyes flickered open, and he opened his mouth to say something -

- and MacRae tipped a drop of Veritaserum into his mouth. Hughes choked briefly, before instinctively swallowing. His eyes became unfocused, and his head tipped to the side. Harry sat down on a chair."First," Harry began, "what is the password to the door in the alley?"

The man replied, his voice toneless. "Fffft."

Harry narrowed his eyes. "Why is the password fffft?"

"No one would guess that the password wasn't a word," the man replied dully. Neville giggled. "Fffft," he said, before glares from Harry and MacRae shut him up.

Harry turned back to Hughes. "What is your name?"

"Michael Hughes."

"Not aliases, then," Harry muttered. "And how many Death Eaters are there in this town?"

The answer caused MacRae to choke on the bottle of water he was drinking.

"Fifty-seven." 


	6. Chapter Six

Wherever You Will Go (Chapter Six)

Disclaimers: I don't own anything that has to do with Harry Potter, except for some copies of the book, but those don't really count. I also don't own the song "Wherever You Will Go". None of this is mine. Comprenez-vous? So don't sue me.

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"Fifty-seven."

Harry looked at Hughes, horror-stricken. MacRae stared in disbelief at the prone figure on the floor. "Fifty-seven Death Eaters," he croaked. "That's going to be a lot of backup.."

Harry took a deep breath, and composed himself. He sat, thinking. Behind him, MacRae was pacing in circles, muttering incoherently about Ministry procedures and backup. Finally, Harry spoke. "I think that in this situation, it would be complete suicide to try and enter the headquarters alone. We need to get backup."

MacRae nodded. "Fifty Aurors.. does the Ministry even HAVE fifty Aurors now?"

Harry frowned. "I think that Hermione can dig that many up.. at least, I hope she can. I know she'll come if there aren't enough. In any case, I don't think we need fifty Aurors, if we have the element of surprise. Forty might be ok, plus us three."

"Still, forty people is a lot," MacRae said with a sigh.

"The Ministry used to employ over two hundred Aurors," Harry said firmly. "I'm sure Hermione will be able to get some of the older ones to come back briefly for one last fight."

"I hope you're right." MacRae turned to his bottle of water again.

Harry turned to Neville. "Neville, could you please Apparate back to Hermione and ask her to send as many Aurors as she can get up here as backup? More than forty would be nice, more than fifty would be ideal, more than sixty would be best."

Neville nodded mutely, and disappeared. Harry turned back to the man on the ground. "Why are there so many Death Eaters here?"

"We need that many to accomplish our plan," the man mumbled. Harry's eyebrow twitched slightly. "And what would the plan be?"

The man's eyes rolled in their sockets, and turned towards Harry. "Carry on the work of our Lord Voldemort."

Harry tapped his foot on the ground, with the sudden feeling that the man he was talking to wasn't too bright. "How do you plan to do that?"

"Use the information from our hostage to get inside the Ministry, kill the Mudblood Minister, and take it over. Then we'll kill all the Muggle-loving fools, and this country will be made all the better for it." Hughes' face stretched into a distorted smile, which looked more like a grimace. "Do you like Muggles?"

Harry had expected something like this, and fought his impulse to give the man tentacles instead of limbs when he called Hermione a Mudblood. He succeeded. Barely. "Some of them. Who is your hostage?"

"An Auror from the Ministry. He knows all about how to get around the main Ministry buildings, and where they are -"

Harry rubbed his temples, beginning to get irritated. "Does the Auror have a name?" he snapped.

"His name is Ron Weasley, I think. That's what they called him," Hughes mumbled, his head lolling to the side.

Harry stared at Hughes. "Ron?" he whispered. "Ron's alive?"

"He was alive last night," Hughes continued in a monotone.

"How do we get to him? Is he far inside the building? Is he hurt? What have you done with him?" Harry leapt out of the chair, standing over the Death Eater. Before Hughes could answer him, Harry heard a rustle of cloaks behind him. MacRae reached into his robes, and Harry whirled around, raising his wand -

"Stupefy."

Harry blacked out. 


	7. Chapter Seven

Wherever You Will Go (Chapter Seven)

Disclaimers: I don't own anything that has to do with Harry Potter, except for some copies of the book, but those don't really count. I also don't own the song "Wherever You Will Go". None of this is mine. Comprenez-vous? So don't sue me.

-------------

"Enervate."

Harry slowly opened his eyes. He knew two things: he was thirsty, and it also appeared that he was in very, very deep trouble. He felt tight bonds around his wrists, which were behind his back. Experimentally, he tugged on them. Tight and magically protected.

Cold fingers pressed on the underside of his chin, forcing him to look up. A smile curved onto the face of the man standing in front of him. "Hello, Mr. Potter," the man murmured. Harry flinched as the man traced his scar with a long finger. He opened his mouth, and tried to say something. The man pressed his finger to Harry's lips. "No talking, Harry. You need something to drink first. You've been out for a few hours." He straightened up, and walked toward the opposite side of the room.

Harry took that opportunity to look around him. The walls were stone, and appeared to be damp. The room was lit by a small, cold lamp that hung from the ceiling, and the floor appeared to be clean. He was kneeling on a blanket, which protected his knees somewhat from the rough stone floor. He turned his head left, and gasped.

Ron lay in a corner, bound hand and foot. He appeared to be asleep. Harry struggled to get over to his friend, but the bonds would not give way. Tears sprang to his eyes. "Ron," he croaked. "Wake up, Ron!"

The tall man glided back to Harry. "Now what did I say about talking, Harry? Here, drink this." He held a cup up to Harry's lips. After looking at it briefly and verifying that it at least looked like water, Harry drank. It tasted like water, and was thankfully cold. The man set aside the cup after it was finished, and conjured up a chair in front of Harry. He sat down, smiling.

"I suppose I should introduce myself," he said, inspecting a long and perfectly manicured fingernail. "My name is Lano. And you, of course, are Harry Potter."

"Ron," Harry gasped. "Is Ron okay?"

A frown briefly touched Lano's lips before his expression became neutral once more. "Mr. Weasley is fine. He is merely sleeping. However, I am not concerned with him; he is only a mechanism to allow me to gain access to the Ministry. I have a slightly more personal interest with you."

Harry didn't like the sound of this. "Oh?" he answered, his tone guarded.

Lano twirled a wand between his fingers. "Yes. I have been watching you, Harry." He smiled again.

"That's nice," Harry replied. Then he frowned. "Is that my wand?"

Lano laughed softly. "Yes, Harry, it is your wand. I cannot allow you to have it, as I know very well what you would do with it."

Harry sighed. "What do you want with me?"

Lano's face twisted into a menacing sneer. "You are a very powerful Auror, Harry. You helped destroy my Lord Voldemort. What do I want with you? I want you dead. And I want to kill you myself." He flipped Harry's wand over and pointed it at him.

Harry had figured it would be something like this. He didn't dignify Lano's statement with an answer, and concentrating on hoping that Neville would bring backup and remember the password. Password..

"Where's Edward?" he asked suddenly.

Lano glanced at the doorway. "He's in the other room. He has not been brought around yet."

Harry tugged on his bonds again, twisting his wrists slightly. Nothing. He sighed mentally, wishing that the Death Eaters would recruit only very stupid people. Unluckily for him, Lano was only the fourth Death Eater of higher-than-normal intelligence that he had ever come across. Even worse was the fact that he couldn't do anything. 'Hurry up, Hermione!' he thought.

Lano watched Harry, amusement in his eyes. He crossed his legs. "How does it feel to be on the losing side for once, Harry?"

Harry watched Lano carefully. If he played his cards right, he could hold out until Neville discovered their disappearance. So, he turned his head away from the strange Death Eater and watched Ron. The redhead's chest was rising and falling rhythmically; he was, indeed, alive. Briefly, Harry wondered if he would be able to hop on his knees over to his friend. It would be most undignified, but in a situation like this, keeping his dignity intact wasn't on the top of his to-do list.

Eventually, Lano left, tired of Harry's silence. Harry waited for a few minutes to be sure, and struggled to his knees. He managed to propel himself across the floor using strange twisting motions, with the occasional fall. When he finally reached Ron, he was gasping with exhaustion. "Ron," he whispered urgently. "Wake up, Ron."

Ron lay on the floor, breathing regularly. Harry nudged him with a shoulder, almost falling over in the process. His heart soared as Ron's eyes fluttered open. "What?" the redhead grumbled. "Can't let me have a good sleep now - bloody hell, Harry, is that you?"

Harry grinned broadly, nodding once before collapsing with fatigue. Ron's eyes widened, and he reached out to stop Harry from knocking himself out on the floor. Harry looked at his best friend, his eyes unfocused. "You're not tied?" he murmured, about to conk out whether he hit the ground or not.

Ron shook his head. "They've got my wand, and anyway, there's no way to get out of here." He made a disgusted face, which changed to one of wonder. "But how did you get here?"

Harry leaned against a wall, glad for some support at his back. "Long story.. want to hear the whole thing or the short version?"

Ron shrugged. "We're not getting out of here anytime soon. Might as well tell me the whole story."

Harry took a deep breath, and closed his eyes for a second. He re-opened them. "First, it's been a year since you disappeared on us -"

"Sorry 'bout that, Harry," Ron mumbled sheepishly. "Didn't mean to." Harry smiled weakly at him. "I know. It's okay. Anyway, about six months ago, Voldemort was defeated." Ignoring Ron's wide-eyed reaction to this, Harry kept talking. "A few months ago, Hermione became the Minister of Magic, and she's doing a damn good job of it so far."

"Stop, stop, stop. Voldemort's gone?" Ron demanded weakly. Harry nodded. "I should know. I was there." A broad smile spread over Ron's face. "We're not screwed, then! Well, maybe a little. Anyway, how did Hermione get to be Minister?"

"They originally asked me, but Hermione's better at that stuff than I am, so I told them to give her the job instead. They did. After she became Minister, she sent out teams of Aurors to find Death Eaters who had fled. This town attracted their attention, and I got sent up here with Edward MacRae." Harry wondered whether or not he should tell Ron about Neville's part in this.

Ron nodded. "And you guys ended up here. Well, three's better than one, even if none of us have wands." He grimaced. Harry nodded silently, and tried once again to get out of the ties at his wrists.

"Oh, hell, are _you_ tied? I should have noticed.. here, lemme see if I can get that undone." Ron moved around behind Harry, and fiddled with the bonds for a minute. Harry felt them gradually loosening, and heard Ron sigh in frustration. "They're magic, the damn things, and I can't get them undone any more than this!"

Harry wriggled his wrists, glad that they weren't restricting his blood flow anymore. "Thanks, Ron, this is much better. Maybe I can slip them off.." He continued trying to get out of the ties, while Ron moved around front and began to work on Harry's ankles.

Within half an hour, Harry yanked his wrist out triumphantly. Soon after, Ron loosened the ankle ties enough to Harry to slip out of them. Harry stretched, and grinned broadly. "Okay, now there's got to be some way out of here." He stood up, and his unsteady legs toppled beneath him. Ron caught him again, and they sat on the blanket.

"There isn't any way out of here except the door," Ron said, "but I'm sure there's a way we can get around that." He grinned. "Got any ideas?"

They began plotting. 


	8. Chapter Eight

Wherever You Will Go (Chapter Eight)

Disclaimers: I don't own anything that has to do with Harry Potter, except for some copies of the book, but those don't really count. I also don't own the song "Wherever You Will Go". None of this is mine. Comprenez-vous? So don't sue me.

-------------

Harry kept the ties close, just in case Lano came back. He and Ron conferred in whispers, finally deciding on a plan that involved disarming Lano, getting their wands back, and then hoping that everything went well. Harry didn't tell Ron that Neville had gone to fetch other Aurors, just in case someone was listening in.

Harry fell asleep immediately after their plotting session, and Ron put the ties back on him loosely. He sat back against the wall, happier than he had been in a long time. Somehow, he had known that Harry would eventually find him. Harry was like that; turning up everywhere he wasn't expected, and saving the day. Ron occasionally felt jealous that he was usually remembered as "Harry Potter's friend", but he knew that his best friends thought much more of him than that. Besides, it was good having a friend who would save you if you got yourself into a big mess. Like this one.

Back at the Ministry, Hermione had become hysterical. "GONE?!" she screeched. "WHAT DO YOU _MEAN_ 'THEY'RE GONE'?!"

Neville cowered. He was a good and fairly powerful Auror, but that didn't stop him from fearing the wrath of the very upset Minister of Magic. "I - I got back there, and they had both disappeared, and weren't answering any speech spells.."

Hermione paced around her office. "First Ron disappears, and now Harry.. what are we going to _do_?!"

Neville eyed her warily. "Well, we could send some people up there to look for them.."

Hermione glared daggers at Neville, who shrunk back. "It was a rhetorical question, Neville! Of course that's what we have to do, but Harry's always been the best at that and now we have to look for him!"

They continued like this for a few hours, until Hermione reached the most sensible conclusion that she should send a large team of the most competent Aurors she could find to break into the Death Eater headquarters. Neville had come to this conclusion a long time earlier, but an upset Hermione was a Hermione not to be crossed, so he shut up and listened to her rant instead.

Hermione set about finding competent Aurors. She immediately had seven volunteers - the whole remaining Weasley family - and sent Neville off to find more while she rampaged through the old Ministry employment lists.

Meanwhile, Harry and Ron were getting bored. They had been standing on opposite sides of the door, lying in wait for Lano, for almost two hours. Eventually, they sat down.

"Up for tic-tac-toe?" Ron inquired. Harry shrugged and grinned. "Why not. Nothing else to do." He drew a board in the dirt. "I get first move." He put an 'x' in the top right corner, and waited for Ron to move. He didn't. Ron was frozen, listening. "I think I hear him," he whispered, scrambling to his feet and resuming his former position.

Harry hopped up and flattened himself against the wall. They listened as the steps grew closer and closer, and the door opened.

Lano shrieked in surprise as his two prisoners pounced on him, and protested loudly when he suffered the indignity of lying on the ground while Ron sat on his back and Harry rifled through his pockets to find their wands.

"Got 'em," Harry grinned triumphantly, holding up three wands. He tossed one to Ron, who caught it. "Never thought I'd be so glad to see my wand again," he said fondly, before pointing it at Lano's head and grinning wickedly. "I feel the same way Malfoy must have felt when we were still in school."

Harry grinned, and knelt down in front of Lano. He held a wand out. "See this wand? It's yours, right?"

Lano made a muffled sound of assent. Harry smiled. "Good. Do anything out of order, and I'll snap it. Ron, let him up." He pulled out his own wand and placed magical ties on their captive, who was scowling in a most unbecoming fashion. Ron stretched and yawned before slowly rising, and letting Lano get up. He kept his wand trained on Lano's head. "So, now what do we do?" he asked Harry.

There was a long pause before Harry answered. "I don't know, really. I suppose we should.." He scratched his head in confusion. "See, the Ministry rule books don't give any information about procedures when we've been captured by the enemy and got our wands back. I suppose we should incapacitate them all and go get the Ministry people."

"Yeah!" Ron exclaimed. He pointed his wand at Lano, who made a muffled squeaking noise. "Petrificus Totalus." Lano froze, and Ron looked quite pleased. "I'll go get the rest."

Harry grinned. "You're not getting them all for yourself, you greedy little -"

Ron mock-glared at him, before marching pompously out of the room. Harry shook his head and laughed. He leaned against the wall to keep an eye on Lano. In the halls, he could hear the echoing "Petrificus Totalus! Oh, hell, now he's blocking the hall."

Ron managed to Petrify most of the Death Eaters, and Harry helped transport them all back to their dungeon room. They surveyed the mounds of disgruntled Death Eaters, and were quite pleased with themselves.

Harry crossed his arms over his chest and eyed the enemies. "You know, some of them work during the day. Maybe we should lie in wait for them too."

Ron lit up. "You're right!" He bounded out of the room, and Harry ran after him. They snickered and traded jokes in the dark, waiting for their next victims. Every time the door opened, it was a race to see who could jump up first and Petrify the Death Eater that entered. Most of the time, Harry won, since he made a point of blocking Ron's view of the door.

They were having the time of their lives. Hermione was having a heart attack. "NEVILLE! How many Aurors do you have?! I can only get thirty!" She wrung her hands, and paced in circles.

Neville stuck his head into her office. "I have twenty-three.. is that enough?"

"That'll do! Are they here yet?"

"They're arriving slowly." Neville glanced behind him, noting that the group of Aurors was growing.

"Good. Good, good, good. Tell them to get here faster!"

Neville also noted that he should never, _ever_, get on the Minister's bad side. It might be very dangerous to his health, and he valued his health.

"NEVILLE!"

He jumped. "Y - yes, ma'am! I'll get right on it.." 


	9. Chapter Nine, Epilogue

Wherever You Will Go (Chapter Nine)

Disclaimers: I don't own anything that has to do with Harry Potter, except for some copies of the book, but those don't really count. I also don't own the song "Wherever You Will Go". None of this is mine. Comprenez-vous? So don't sue me.

-------------

"Ha! Won again!" Harry grabbed a nearby Death Eater's wand and placed it over another wand to make the 'x' that won him his fourth consecutive tic-tac-toe game. Ron scowled, and suddenly brightened. "Hey, want to play chess?" He grinned broadly as he conjured a chess board and pieces. Harry laughed. "YOU just want to play a game that you can win."

Ron stuck his tongue out. "You're just jealous."

"You wish." Harry grinned, and tossed a knight at Ron's forehead. The Death Eaters would have rolled their eyes at such childish behaviour, if they could have moved. Since they couldn't, they merely lay there, staring off into space and wondering how these two, out of all possible pairs of wizards, could have taken out fifty-five Death Eaters. Lano, who was at the bottom of the pile, was suffering serious undermining of his self-confidence.

Out of the pile, Ron was suffering similar underminings, since he was the object of a barrage of flying chess pieces. When the two had both reduced their artilleries, they collapsed laughing.

Harry wiped tears of laughter from his eyes. "God, I missed you, Ron."

Ron grinned, and idly threw Harry's king at him. "Missed you too. But really, you took your time getting here! Getting slow in your old age?"

Harry snorted. "At least my hair isn't going gray." He pointed to a random spot on Ron's head.

"Gray? I'm going gray already?" Ron's hands flew to his hair. Harry roared with laughter and fell over. Ron glared.

Hermione paced around her office for the two-hundred-thousandth time that day. "Okay, so we have everyone! Right?"

Neville nodded, scared to do much else. Within ten minutes, the whole party of nearly sixty Aurors, plus Neville and Hermione, set off for the secret door in the alley.

Ron and Harry crouched in the dark, wands ready, waiting for the two remaining Death Eaters. Ron's ears perked up when he heard rustling in the alley, and the door swung open. He jumped up and Petrified the person who came in.

Hermione fell to the ground, her face a mask of surprise. Harry started laughing. "Good one, Ron!"

Ron kicked Harry's shins. "Shut up, I'm trying to remember the countercurse!"

Harry grinned. "Hermione could tell us, but she's Petrified, isn't she?" He snickered. Hermione found none of this amusing in the slightest. Ron walked in circles, muttering and trying to remember his counter-curses.

Harry watched in amusement as Ron accidentally gave Hermione a few nasty curses in the process of trying to un-Petrify her. Finally, an Auror stepped forward and cleaned Hermione up. Harry held a hand out to help Hermione stand. She took it, and hauled herself up. "What _are_ you two doing?!" she exclaimed.

Ron feigned a pout. "Not even going to say you're glad to see me? I'm hurt."

Hermione rolled her eyes, and hugged him tightly. "Of course I'm glad to see you, you great stupid almost-ex-Auror!"

Harry snickered.

Ron gasped for air. "Hermione, you're great and all, but I need to breathe."

"Oh, sorry." Hermione didn't look very sorry at all. She let Ron go and turned on Harry, who shut up immediately. "I have fifty-four Aurors out there all waiting to rescue you! Why didn't you contact me the moment you had all the Death Eaters?!"

Harry glanced at Ron. "Well, we don't have all the Death Eaters, and if your Aurors keep standing out there, we're not going to get them at all."

Hermione furrowed her brow. "Explain."

"There are two that haven't arrived yet. We were waiting for them," Ron explained. "We've got fifty-five of 'em Petrified in there, though." He beamed with pride.

Hermione glared. "I'll bring this lot in to take your Death Eaters back to the Ministry. Apprehend the other two and call me the second you get them. Ron, you idiot, I missed you so much!" She flung her arms around him again. Ron hugged her back. "Missed you too, Herm, but can you get your Aurors out of the alley?"

Harry grinned as fifty-three Aurors made their way through the darkened inner hall, occasionally bumping into each other and cursing before finding the right room. He settled down into a corner with Ron, waiting for the two others.

They didn't have to wait long, but the two men put up a good fight. Ron had a chance to use some of the new curses he had accidentally discovered while trying to un-curse Hermione, and the result was two very cursed and irritated (and Petrified) Death Eaters.

An hour later, everything was complete according to Ministry procedures, and the Aurors headed back to the Ministry headquarters to fill out forms and deliver the remaining Death Eaters to temporary holding cells. Ron and Harry Apparated back to the apartment at nearly 11 PM.

Ron explored his room with a look of wonder on his face, as Harry watched from the door. The redhead grinned sheepishly. "It's just been so long since I've really seen this place.."

Harry smiled. "I know.. don't you ever disappear like that again, hear?"

Ron nodded. "I'll try." Harry leaned against the doorframe, hands in his pockets. "It was empty without you," he said quietly. "There was no point to anything. Everyone around me was telling me what a pity it was that an excellent Auror like you, in the prime of his life, should die on duty. I couldn't live with it." He looked at Ron, the pain of the last year visible in his eyes.

Ron hesitated only a moment before he walked over to Harry, and hugged him tightly. Harry held on to Ron like he would never let go, could never let go. They stayed like that for a few minutes, until Harry moved slightly. "I love you," he mumbled into Ron's shoulder. The redhead grinned broadly, and hugged Harry tighter. "I love you too."

In the next room, Hermione listened, smiling.

_If I could, then I would  
I'll go wherever you will go  
Way up high or down low  
I'll go wherever you will go  
-"Wherever You Will Go", The Calling_

The End

Epilogue

Harry opened his eyes sleepily. Red. "What the - " he mumbled, and sat up. Then he smiled and lay back down. Ron continued sleeping, unaware that his companion had ever moved. Harry watched Ron for a few minutes, before laughing softly. "My eyes and your hair.. they make Christmas colors."

Then he fell back asleep.

--------

Hope you're happy, Morgan. You've convinced me that they would make a cute couple.. but I still like D/H better. Nyahahaha. ^-^

_10:45 PM, August 16, 2002_


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